Britain's FTSE 100 share index registered a fifth day of losses on Friday amid a global sell-off, with banks buckling as bond prices fell, but retailers bounced after weeks of investors fretting about consumer spending.
The banking sector took 10 points off the index, as fears of further UK interest rate hikes pushed UK benchmark government bond prices down this week to give the highest yields in nine years. A stubbornly high oil price also kept inflation concerns alive. Royal Bank of Scotland fell 0.9 percent. The company said earlier it expected to issue documents in relation to its joint 71 billion euro ($95 billion) bid for ABN Amro along with Spain's Santander and Belgian-Dutch group Fortis.
Barclays fell 1.2 percent following media reports that concern is growing over its exposure to two Bear Stearns hedge funds facing collapse. The FTSE 100 index of leading UK shares ended down 28.6 points, or 0.43 percent, at 6,567.4, tracking losses in Asian and US equities and notching up its worst run since a six-day fall in mid-November. 80 percent of the index's stocks ended lower.
"When you've had straight declines on the FTSE it's hard to be positive really," said Peter Dixon, UK economist at Commerzbank. "It's still very difficult to really buy into the notion that markets are going to continue pushing significantly higher than where we are now," he added.
"There's a sort of end-of-cycle feeling." Adding to the FTSE's woes, miners were all in negative territory and accounted for nearly 20 percent of the downside. BHP Billiton was down 1.1 percent and Kazakhmys fell 1 percent.
Tesco shares were standout gainers, rising 2.1 percent and breaking a four-day losing streak triggered by mounting investor jitters over the resilience of the British consumer in the face of rising interest rates. Home Retail Group added 2.7 percent, while smaller rival Wm Morrison Supermarkets rose 1.7 percent, breaking a four-day losing streak.
Also gaining, publisher Pearson rose 1.4 percent in its largest one-day rally in six weeks after deciding not to pursue a joint bid with General Electric for Dow Jones & Co Inc.
But life insurers lagged, with Britain's financial watchdog is set next week to propose a shake-up in the way people buy life insurance and investments, with a long-awaited review that will call for changes in commissions and better advice for customers. In the sector, Friends Provident shed 2 percent, Aviva dropped 0.9 percent and Royal & Sun Alliance went down 1.6 percent.
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